I will be returning to Istanbul in just over a month. After a stint in the Gulf I've saved up enough money to buy a house in my beloved Istanbul. I've been checking out house prices on various sites. However as I've never bought a house before I am looking for any Advice from those who have bought property in Turkey before ( Richard Amre?) Are there any hidden costs that I should watch out for?
Many thanks in advance for any advice.

An Englishman I know bought a house in Isparta area paying just 6000 dollars u.s. (yes 6000 dollars only).

He has had the house for a couple of years and spends about 5 months a year here and the rest of the time in the Caribbean. There are no hidden costs and the paper work was simple. He has worked out a deal with the neighbors who look in on the house from time to time when he is away.

Now is the time to buy because when Turkey joins Europe prices will skyrocket.

There was a report on the news recently explaining how the laws had been (or were about to be) changed to allow foreigners to buy property in Turkey. I wasn't really watching carefully so I can't give any details, but take note that anything you might turn up on the net could now/soon be out of date.

I believe foreigners were previously allowed to buy properties within certain areas so maybe now this has been extended to the whole country.

According to my father-in-law, there are 20,000 German retirees that own property just in Antalya. I guess they've been clamoring for the right to build a church to serve their needs, and it was an interesting issue for a while.

Hi Dmb
Yep richard Ame here just back from using my OTHER property in Ayvalik,had to return to Izmir for a summer school(sigh). Anyway buying a house in Turkey is not so difficult at the moment ,however you are going to need someone you can trust to do the legal stuff for you which is a must if you want to avoid being burned as many people are . &#304;deally get a lawyer to do a lot of the running around for you and always agree a fee in advance ,in fact this is something you need to do in every future transaction relating to property you intend to buy, even more so when it involves alleged workmen doing alleged restoration to your house or apartment.
I recently bought an apartment of above average size (250 squ metre) in Izmir for 25 miliyar (about 10 grand sterling) you won't find this in Istanbul unless its full of kurds and gipsies , on top of the purchase price you have to pay a commission to the useless emlak or estate agent apart from the vergi or land tax and a transfer fee thats about it as far as expenses are concerned .If the seller is prepared to wait a month or three you can buy it in your own right wait for your application to buy to be processed by the authorities ,that includes the police ,the army intelligence (mit) and anyone else who thinks you may have something to hide back home .When my wife bought our first property they even found she had a speeding ticket over 10 years ago so they are pretty through in their investigations so if you have a dark secret you don't want digging up get someone else to make the purchase on your behalf ,it will get done quicker but you will have to pay the transfer fee twice ,just make sure its someone you trust and get EVERYTH&#304;NG notorised by a local notor otherwise you have got no legal ground to stand on .good luck hope this helps , all the best whens the house warming ?

Excuse this post. but it is Summer and i am BORED. Yes on the road
and board. IN an internet cafe with some nutty asian guy who is talking
to his computer screen and singing along with the DONNA SUMMERS music
which is being piped in over the internet cafe speakers.
"[b][color=orange]she works hard for the money ya so hard for the money so you better treat her right"....[/b][/color]jeez..wonder if Donna is singing about TEFL teachers.
No he is not wearing earphones, or have a net camera. he is just
sooooo happy to be chatting to the scrren and pointing at it..shit
if i know what he is say..Oh man, now he is laughing...man. the computer
must have just told him a joke.

Well after tonight MAYBE I ll buy a house in Turkey...just 6000 huh?
Are there crazies there too.